


a lady's help

by IronSwordStarShield (SweetFanfics)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (but especially tony), Gen, Insecure Steve, everyone loves steve and wants to see him happy, the team surprises steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 23:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20590793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/IronSwordStarShield
Summary: The team is up to something. Stevethinkshe knows what they're doing but he's totally wrong.





	a lady's help

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by this [My Cat From Heaven video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEzcSJ3Ji6Y) and a little bit from [this fanart of Tony hugging a cat](https://ishipallthings.tumblr.com/post/186213465038/codeflaws-tiny-stark-commission-for-starksnack).

The team is up to something. They’ve done their best to be sneaky about it but Steve’s their leader and he's got eyes. It's not hard to miss the way they tend to disappear in couples. And also Thor’s not a great liar. His excuses, whenever he has to leave the Tower, have been unprompted, overly helpful, and confusion inducing. So Steve’d realized something was up _pretty _fast.

At first he’d thought just Thor was up to something. But then he’d caught sight of Thor sneaking out with Natasha. Then another time with Tony and Clint. Then it was Tony, Natasha, and Bruce. Steve’d watched them from his perch on Iron Man’s landing pad and wondered what was going on? For a brief, hurtful moment, he’d thought that maybe everyone was hanging out with each other and no one had invited him. It's an old paranoia that's too easy to believe and could be true. He knows what the others think of him: a stern figure without much of a sense of humor. He can't imagine someone like Tony Stark wanting to hang out with a rube like him. 

But a little bit of tentative poking with JARVIS' help and Steve's realized, they're probably not hanging out somewhere. They never showed up on social media during those sneaky excursions. And every time, JARVIS insists that Mr. Stark or Ms. Romanoff are running errands. _That _Steve easily finds pictures of (he never thought he'd enjoy the sight of seeing Tony Stark being so obvious torn between two flavors of Snapple). 

The point is that Steve realizes that they're not hanging out without him. Which begs the question of what are the rest of his team up to. He’d ruled out some villain being involved super quickly. Fury's confirmed that he wasn't planning some kind of side mission using some of the Avengers. Which leaves Steve in a state of confusion, wondering what the hell is going on. What other possible reason could there be for the whole team to be sneaking around?

He’s sitting down with his notepad and a pencil, determined to make a list of hypothesis and work his way through them in the hopes of figuring out what was going on. Unfortunately he asks JARVIS for help and the AI dryly points out, “Surely it would be easier to simply ask the others what they are planning?”

Steve shoots a dry look up into the nearest camera. “Last time I tried to ask Thor what he was planning, he shot up out of his seat yelling he had to go feed the penguins.”

“Mr. Odinson _is _fond of feeding time down at the zoo and helping whenever he can.”

“In Antarctica,” Steve reminds JARVIS.

“He’s a humanitarian beyond reproach.” JARVIS promptly answers. 

Steve rolls his eyes. Even the AI is sassing him now. This isn’t what he’d imagined the future to be like if he’s completely honest. But whatever. He’s going to get to the bottom of this. And if nothing else, he needs to figure out a way to get Thor to crack because he’s the obvious weak link in the chain. He’s knee-deep into his endeavor when Clint walks into the common room. Well. Maybe it’d be more appropriate to say he _skids _into the room, shoes squeaking against the floor. Steve starts badly enough to break the lead of his pencil against the paper.

“Have you been here the whole time?” Clint asks in obvious exasperation. Before he can say a word, Clint’s pulling Steve up on his feet and pushing him out the door, hands applying steady pressure on Steve’s shoulder blades. “I can’t believe you were here the whole time! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Is there some emergency?” Steve can’t help but ask, worrying about why he didn’t get an alert if something had gone wrong.

“No, no. Nothing like that. You’ll see.” 

It’s a short walk between the kitchen and the living room, where everyone’s waiting. (That makes Steve wonder why it took them all so long to find him). Thor looks like his birthday has come early while Natasha and Bruce was wearing identical expression of controlled excitement. Clint bounds over to a nervous looking Tony, elbows him in the side, and says, “There he is. Go for it.”

Tony puffs up in a way that reminds Steve of an angry parrot before he deflates, grumbling, “If this blows up in our faces, I’m blaming you Barton.”

“_When _Steve thanks you, I’d like a Jacuzzi in my bathroom as thanks.”

“What’s going on?” Steve asks, glancing around at the team, beyond confused at what’s happening. “Is this some kind of intervention?”

“No. No. Nothing like that. I just…” Tony makes a helpless noise before he ducks down and picks a large box up from off the floor and holds it out towards Steve.

Did he say he was confused? Because Steve’s beyond lost now. “It’s not my birthday,” he points out.

“It’s not a-” Tony lets out an exasperated noise, hurrying forward to thrust the large box into Steve’s hands. “Just take it okay! I saw her and I thought of you.”

_Her? _Steve wonders before almost jumping out of his skin when the box _moves_! There’s something inside it! He glances up at Tony, who is worriedly glancing between the top of the box and Steve’s face before gesturing helplessly. Holding the box steady against him with one arm, Steve pries the top open.

A serene pair of gold-green eyes stare up at him. It’s…That’s… “That’s a cat,” Steve says, staring at Tony for answers. “You saw a cat and thought of me?”

“She’s a therapy cat.” Tony sticks his hands into his pockets, rocking slightly on his feet as he babbles, “I saw something online about how petting cats is supposed to help reduce blood pressure because it releases oxytocin, seratonin, and dopamine and that got me thinking about you and how it might help. So I tried to find a shelter that had some therapy cats but then Clint found out about what I was doing and before I knew it everyone got roped into it and we got you a cat because we hope it’ll help you feel better.”

It’s not the longest speech Tony has given but it’s certainly the most… babbliest, if that’s even a word. The cat lets out an inquisitive little squeaky-meow from inside the box that penetrates the buzzing noise in Steve’s ears. He wants to take a step back. Laugh. Because help him feel better? He’s not sick. He doesn't need a therapy animal! He's...

“I’m fine,” Steve chokes out, throat closing up for some mysterious reason. 

Thor steps up next to him, placing a gentle hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Steve. You are not happy. You are trying to find your purpose through one battle after another, all the while ignoring your pain. None of us could ever understand how much you have lost. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen how much grief you carry within you.”

Oh that’s not his throat closing up. That’s a giant lump forming in his throat. And there’s also a dangerously suspicious burning sensation that’s creeping up around his eyes when Thor squeezes his shoulder.

“It also doesn’t mean we’re not going to be here for you when you need us,” Bruce chimes in. “But we get that maybe you can’t talk to us. Not yet. But we figured that maybe a pet would make for a good confidant.” It’s taking everything Steve’s got in him to hold the tears at bay when Bruce smiles at him. His arms reflexively tighten around the box, feeling so flustered and grateful for his team mates. No. His _friends_.

“And take it from someone who’s been there,” Clint points out from his spot next to Natasha, a weak smile puling his lips up. “Having someone to look after helps keep the darkness away. It’s silly but…it really gets your ass up and out of bed knowing someone’s counting on you.”

“We wanted you to know that we’re all here for you, whenever you need us. We’ve got your back, Steve.” Natasha adds in.

He can’t believe he thought that the others would leave him behind. Steve feels so foolish remembering his doubts. His belief that they all saw him as nothing but their team leader. Why did Steve not realize that these people cared for him? 

And then finally, Tony speaks up again, closing up with a quiet, “We all want you to be happy Steve. That’s all.”

Perhaps that’s the thing. This is the first time he’s had a group of friends. Back in the day, it’d been him and Bucky. Then later the Howling Commandos but they were a different group of people. Their way of showing their friendship was different. Plus, these people right now? The Avengers? They’re all broken in some way that makes it difficult for them to open up the way the Howlies had been with each other. The point is that Steve wants to kick himself for making the mistake of thinking that he didn’t have friends in the future because he so very obviously does. Damn good friends if they’ve been worrying about him to the point that they all pitched in to get him a pet.

Blinking rapidly, Steve wills the tears to hang in place on the edge of his eyelids before he looks down at the cat. She’s staring up at him, long tail swishing a little. Steve lets out a choked little laugh, “I don’t know how to take care of a cat. I’ve never… I had allergies.”

Natasha pulls a _book _out of _nowhere _that’s obviously something she’s made herself because the cover page had a ridiculous Word Art-esque cover that’s got Clint’s fingerprints all over it, all the way down to “Cap’s Guide To Cat Rearing: A Dummies Guide to Taking Care of Lady” and hands it to Steve. By which he means she puts it on top of the box, right over a corner.

Steve stares at the title before asking, “Lady?”

“That’s her name,” Tony tucks the ring-bound guide under his arm and takes hold of the box. “Come on, take her out. We wanna see her.”

“Like you haven’t been seeing her for over three wee-OW!” Steve stops with his fingers half-way into the box when Clint exclaims in pain, just in time to see him hopping away from Natasha while holding one foot in his hands. “What was that for?”

“What-” It’s Steve’s turn to jump when something wet and cool touches his fingertip. He bumps into Thor right as he realizes oh! She’s sniffed his fingertips. With a surprised little laugh, Steve leans back in and carefully pulls the darling black creature out of the box. 

“You should put your hand under her legs, offer her some support,” Thor suggests when Steve holds the cat like she’s a baby with a stinky diaper.

Blushing, Steve adjusts his hold and lets out a surprised noise when Lady immediately turns into him, planting her paws firmly on Steve’s collarbone before she starts rubbing her face and whispers against Steve’s chin. Steve freezes, wondering what’s going on when Tony laughs this weak, delighted little thing. 

“She likes you!”

“You think?” Steve asks, shoulders relaxing for a moment before tensing up against because she’s licking his cheek now. Which, _ow_. He hadn't realized that cat tongues were so rough.

“She’s marking you as hers. That’s amazing. It took her a while to warm up to everyone else.” Happiness and pride shine in Tony’s eyes when he meets Steve’s gaze. “She really likes you.”

Underneath his hands, Lady’s chest begins to reverb with a deep purring noise that echoes deep inside Steve’s chest, following by the sweetest meowing noise that immediately melts his heart. He runs his hand down the cats’ supple back, smiling against her fur for a heartbeat before he looks up. Everyone’s smiling at him and Lady and Steve can’t help but feel…_shy _under their attention and care.

Giving Lady a gentle squeeze, Steve says, “Thanks guys. I…I’ll do my best.”

“You’re not doing it alone,” Tony reminds him. “We’ll help. Whatever way we can.”

Grateful beyond words, Steve nods. 

Thor gently pats his back and guides him towards the sofa. “Come. Let us go through this book that Natasha and Clint have so thoughtfully prepared for you.”


End file.
